The patriarch of A&E’s "Gene Simmons’ Family Jewels" is also arguably one of the most iconic rock stars of his generation (and by that I mean if you were born in the '70s), and, unlike some other high-profile artists, he’s a pretty shrewd businessman to boot.

With a career spanning more than 40 years and multiple hit records to his credit, his secret for success is simple. “Don't allow that guy - the drug user and the alcoholic - to be in your band,” he said. “Get rid of that cancer early on because they will be like vampires.”

Simmons recently sat down with CNN and revealed that despite his larger-than-life stage persona, he’s never been drunk or high in his life.

“It's what I sold. Big, bad,” Simmons said. “Going up on stage and turning it on …and then when the show’s over and we finish blowing up Earth, you've got to get off the stage and become a father, a man, ethical and responsible.”

His aversion to drugs and alcohol was a personal decision he made out of respect for his mother, who survived a concentration camp during World War II. “Our entire family was killed off in the gas chambers of Nazi Germany. There is nothing that I would do ever to break my mother's heart.”

Simmons’ relationship with his father is different. The elder Simmons left the family when Gene was six, and growing up poor in Israel he “had the sense that nobody cared," he recalled in the emotional interview below:

Simmons broke down on camera describing the time he received a care package, not knowing who it was from. "[A]ll of a sudden I had the idea that somebody cared," the rocker said. It was that moment that would then drive the rest of his life.

“I don't wait for the calendar to figure out when I should live life," Simmons said. "My mother told me so. She said, 'Treat everyday as if it's the only day you'll ever have.' You can't go through life and leave things the way they are. We can all make a difference, and if I die today, I know I made a difference.”

A difference indeed. As Gene quips, more people today “know what KISS looks like than the faces on Mount Rushmore." See the rest of the iReport questions Gene answered here:

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If we put this kind of thought that you all did in this blog into something worth while.. I think a lot of the worlds problems would be sloved by now. I guess now I will get off here and go watch " Owww my Balls III" since I have lost so many brain cells from this – might as well finish the job by watching a show that i can really learn something from.

Frankly Geneie, you are a bore. What did u give to your audience? Nothing. What did u take from your audience. Their money. What did u do for society? Nothing. Maybe u should give the money back to your fans, get a big ol' refrigerator box and go live under a bridge.

TIN MAN SUIT IN DRAG COULDN'T JAM WITH A MEDIOCRE BAND AT A MOOSE LODGE.
BUT!!!! Remember HE REPRESENTS THE POWER STRUCTURE THAT HELD THE NUTS OF CHUCK BERRY TO JOHN FOGERTY. \
AS GILLIAN WELCH WAILS " THATS THE WAY THE CORN BREAD CRUMBLES THATS THE WAY THE WHOLE THING ENDS, WISE UP GROW UP SNIVELERS.

Those are you opinions not facts. For some people, marriage is a trap. It's got nothing to do with whether or not you want to be in, the fact is that you are and can't get out. For some, just knowing that they could walk away at any point in time means they never will. For others, thye need the security of that piece of paper (and the process that goes along with officially tearing it up) to keep them from breaking up a family.

I don't know why people don't believe that Gene doesn't drink or do drugs.. He and Paul Stanley have booted anyone who got messed up with that stuff out of their band.. which is why Ace and Peter were booted long ago.

Actually, Ace was not booted from the band. He quit KISS in '82 because he didn't like the direction the band was going. There's more than once source that writes how Gene and Paul BEGGED Ace to stay. Ace's departure actually cost the band a boat load of money in an unsettled contract with a record label.
He reunited with the band (at their request) in the 90's and departed, again on his terms, in 2000 because he had a big problem with the fact that KISS would be opening for Aerosmith. I was there in 2004 when KISS opened for Aerosmith – big mistake. Ace was absolutely right – KISS is not an opening act for anyone. For Ace it may have been a question of ego or pride, but from the audience POV, I can tell you that once KISS left the stage, they took all of the energy and excitement with them and left Aerosmith with nothing. Oddly enough, that ticket didn't last for long.
This defense isn't to say that Ace wasn't a problem or that he wasn't causing problems because of his addictions. It's just to set the record straight on why he left, both times he left. I do hope that Ace continues his sobriety; I truly feel that if it weren't for the drugs and drink, he could have catapulted his solo career above and beyond anything he had with KISS...he certainly had the potential.

Actually, Ace was not booted from the band. He quit KISS in '82 because he didn't like the direction the band was going. There's more than once source that writes how Gene and Paul BEGGED Ace to stay. Ace's departure actually cost the band a boat load of money in an unsettled contract with a record label at that time.
He reunited with the band (at their request) in the 90's and departed, again, on his terms, in 2000 because he had a big problem with the fact that KISS would be opening for Aerosmith. I was there in 2004 when KISS opened for Aerosmith – big mistake. Ace was absolutely right – KISS is not an opening act for anyone. For Ace it may have been a question of ego or pride, but from the audience POV, I can tell you that once KISS left the stage, they took all of the energy and excitement with them and left Aerosmith with nothing. Oddly enough, that ticket didn't last for long.
This defense isn't to say that Ace wasn't a problem or that he wasn't causing problems because of his addictions. It's just to set the record straight on why he left, both times he left. I do hope that Ace continues his sobriety; I truly feel that if it weren't for the drugs and drink, he could have catapulted his solo career above and beyond anything he had with KISS...he certainly had the potential.

I don't have a hard time believing that he didn't do drugs or alcohol. And I think it's lovely that he didn't want to do these harmful things to himself because it would have hurt his mother. But wouldn't the fact that you've boinked a substantial portion of the planet's female population be a bit upsetting to your mother as well? Talk about a health risk.

Thank you! I'm not a big Gene fan, but the man isn't lying about being clean. There are several sources that report that Gene tried one – ONE beer back in the 70's and that he was a big lightweight – couldn't even finish it, didn't like it and never drank again. Those people go on to say that Gene is a mamma's boy and that he doesn't have any friends. If not for his wife and kids, he'd be a loner.

Sad that just because we look a certain way, oh damn we must of used drugs and drank. When he says he did not, I beleive him.
But this is the way we are now....and just too sad....Been a Kiss fan from day one, and never in the 40 years did I ever read oh he was drunk or oh he was so wasted. Gez people give him a break...

I missed asking Gene Simmons a question so I will do it here: As a Jewish Mother of 55 myself and a Canadian, how awful was it for you that your mother couldn't attend your wedding and why didn't you do more to get her there? Alternatively why did you not do it again for your mother? Also, one more personal question, did Shannon ever convert and are your kids considered Jewish? Not that this is an issue for me...